This invention relates to an automotive air conditioner and an instrument panel module, and more particularly to an automotive air conditioner and an instrument panel module which can cope with a change in the location of a steering member.
FIG. 28 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a conventional automotive air conditioner.
This automotive air conditioner is arranged in a space defined by an instrument panel (not shown), a floor panel Fl, and a fire panel Fi.
The fire panel Fi divides between an engine room ER and a compartment R, while the floor panel forms the floor of the compartment R. The automotive air conditioner and the instrument panel are located within the compartment R.
A steering member S is located between the instrument panel and the automotive air conditioner.
This automotive air conditioner has a casing 501 in which are accommodated a blower 503, an evaporator 505, an air-mixing door 506, and a heater core 507.
The casing 501 is formed with a defroster outlet d, a vent outlet v, and a foot outlet f.
The defroster outlet d and the vent outlet v are located in an upper part of the casing 501, while the foot outlet f is located in a lower part of the same. Air is blown into the cabin space of the compartment R from the respective outlets d, v, f via ducts (not shown).
On an automotive assembly line, when the automotive air conditioner, the steering member S, and the like are mounted on an automotive vehicle, the automotive air conditioner is mounted first. In doing this, ends of pipes of an evaporator 505 and a heater core 507 are projected via holes of the fire panel into the engine room.
Next, the steering member S is mounted.
Finally, the instrument panel is laid over the steering member S and the automotive air conditioner, and an upper part of the instrument panel is screwed to a cowl, while a lower part of the instrument panel is screwed to the floor panel Fl.
From the viewpoint of safety in collision in recent years, a vehicle came into existence which has a steering member arranged in a location lower than and ahead of that of the steering member S shown in FIG. 28
In this kind of vehicle, the space in which only the automotive vehicle alone has been installed is crossed by the steering member S.
As a result, when an attempt is made to first mount the automotive air conditioner on the vehicle, and then mount the steering member S, the steering member S is interfered with the automotive air conditioner, and hence cannot be mounted. Inversely, when an attempt is made to first mount the steering member S on the vehicle, and then mount the automotive air conditioner, the automotive air conditioner is interfered with the steering S and cannot be mounted.
As described above, a change in the mounting location of the steering member S has brought about a problem that both the air conditioner and the steering member S cannot be installed on the vehicle.
The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an automotive air conditioner and an instrument panel module which can cope with a change in the mounting location of the steering member.
An automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized by comprising a casing having at least one of air-introducing means for introducing air, blowing means for blowing the air from the air-introducing means, cooling means for cooling the air introduced by the blowing means from the air-introducing means, heating means for heating the air introduced by the blowing means from the air-introducing means, and air-distributing means for distributing the cooled air or the heated air, and a steering member-accommodating portion formed in the casing, for accommodating a steering member extending in a right-left direction of a vehicle, wherein the casing can be divided at least into an instrument panel-side part adjacent to an instrument panel and a fire panel-side part adjacent to a fire panel.
An automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized by comprising a casing having at least one of air-introducing means for introducing air, blowing means for blowing the air from the air-introducing means, cooling means for cooling the air introduced by the blowing means from the air-introducing means, heating means for heating the air introduced by the blowing means from the air-introducing means, and air-distributing means for distributing the cooled air or the heated air, and a steering member interference-avoiding portion formed in the casing, for avoiding interference with a steering member extending in a right-left direction of a vehicle, wherein the casing can be divided at least into an instrument panel-side part adjacent to an instrument panel and a fire panel-side part adjacent to a fire panel.
An automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized by comprising a casing having at least one of air-introducing means for introducing air, blowing means for blowing the air from the air-introducing means, cooling means for cooling the air introduced by the blowing means from the air-introducing means, heating means for heating the air introduced by the blowing means from the air-introducing means, and air-distributing means for distributing the cooled air or the heated air, and a steering member arranging-space portion formed in the casing, for arranging therein a steering member extending in a right-left direction of a vehicle, wherein the casing can be divided at least into an instrument panel-side part adjacent to an instrument panel and a fire panel-side part adjacent to a fire panel.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member-accommodating portion is a hole extending through the casing in the right-left direction of the vehicle or a recess formed in an outer surface of the casing in the right-left direction of the vehicle.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member interference-avoiding portion is a hole extending through the casing in the right-left direction of the vehicle or a recess formed in an outer surface of the casing in the right-left direction of the vehicle.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member-arranging space portion is a hole extending through the casing in the right-left direction of the vehicle or a recess formed in an outer surface of the casing in the right-left direction of the vehicle.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the instrument panel-side part can be removed in one direction.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that air conditioner components including the cooling means, the heating means, and the air-distributing means are systematically classified into groups, and that ones of the air conditioner components belonging to a first group are assigned to the instrument panel-side part, and ones of the air conditioner components belonging to a second group are assigned to the fire panel-side part.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the instrument panel-side part can be removed in one direction, that air conditioner components including the cooling means, the heating means, and the air-distributing means are systematically classified into groups, and that ones of the air conditioner components belonging to a first group are assigned to the instrument panel-side part, and ones of the air conditioner components belonging to a second group are assigned to the fire panel-side part.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the fire panel-side part is commonly usable in a plurality of kinds of vehicles, and the instrument panel-side part is usable for only a specific kind of vehicles.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that division into the instrument panel-side part and the fire panel-side part is effected using the steering member-accommodating portion as a boundary.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that division into the instrument panel-side part and the fire panel-side part is effected using the steering member interference-avoiding portion as a boundary.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that division into the instrument panel-side part and the fire panel-side part is effected using the steering member-arranging space portion as a boundary.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the one belonging to the first group is the air-distributing means, that the ones belonging to the second group are the cooling means and the heating means, that the air-distributing means comprises a mode door for opening and closing an air outlet opening of the casing and a drive mechanism for driving the mode door, and that the cooling means and the heating means are both heat exchangers.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the one belonging to the first group is the air-distributing means, that the one belonging to the second group is the heating means, that the air-distributing means comprises a mode door for opening and closing an air outlet opening of the casing and a drive mechanism for driving the mode door, and that the heating means is a heat exchanger.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the ones belonging to the first group are the heating means and the air-distributing means, that the one belonging to the second group is the cooling means, that the heating means is an electric heater, that the air-distributing means comprises a mode door for opening and closing an air outlet opening of the casing and a drive mechanism for opening and closing the mode door, and that the cooling means is a heat exchanger.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member-accommodating portion is located between the blowing means and the cooling means.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member-accommodating portion is located between the cooling means and the heating means.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member-accommodating portion is located downstream of an air passage of the heating means.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member-accommodating portion is located above the heating means in a vertical direction of the vehicle.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member-accommodating portion is located in a mixing space wherein air having passed through the cooling means and air having passed through the heating means are mixed with each other.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member-accommodating portion is located within an intake box forming part of the air-introducing means.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member interference-avoiding portion is located between the blowing means and the cooling means.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member interference-avoiding portion is located between the cooling means and the heating means.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member interference-avoiding portion is located downstream of an air passage of the heating means.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member interference-avoiding portion is located above the heating means in a vertical direction of the vehicle.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member interference-avoiding portion is located in a mixing space wherein air having passed through the cooling means and air having passed through the heating means are mixed with each other.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member interference-avoiding portion is located within an intake box forming part of the air-introducing means.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member-arranging space portion is located between the blowing means and the cooling means.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member-arranging space portion is located between the cooling means and the heating means.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member-arranging space portion is located downstream of an air passage of the heating means.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member-arranging space portion is located above the heating means in a vertical direction of the vehicle.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member-arranging space portion is located in a mixing space wherein air having passed through the cooling means and air having passed through the heating means are mixed with each other.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the steering member-arranging space portion is located within an intake box forming part of the air-introducing means.
An automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized by comprising a casing having at least one of air-introducing means for introducing air, blowing means for blowing the air from the air-introducing means, cooling means for cooling the air introduced by the blowing means from the air-introducing means, heating means for heating the air introduced by the blowing means from the air-introducing means, and air-distributing means for distributing the cooled air or the heated air, and a rigid portion formed integrally with the casing and forming part of a steering member extending in a right-left direction of a vehicle.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the weight of the casing is divided between front and rear portions of the vehicle with the steering member as a center.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the casing can be divided at least into an instrument panel-side part adjacent to an instrument panel and a fire panel-side part adjacent to a fire panel.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the instrument panel-side part can be removed in one direction.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that air conditioner components including the cooling means, the heating means, and the air-distributing means are systematically classified into groups, and that ones of the air conditioner components belonging to a first group are assigned to the instrument panel-side part, and ones of the air conditioner components belonging to a second group are assigned to the fire panel-side part.
The automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that the fire panel-side part is commonly usable in a plurality of kinds of vehicles, and the instrument panel-side part is usable for only a specific kind of vehicles.
An instrument panel module according to the present invention is characterized in that the automotive air conditioner is integrally provided on the instrument panel.
An automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that in an automotive air conditioner having a cooling heat exchanger and a heater arranged within a unit casing sequentially from a front side of a vehicle toward a rear side of the vehicle, the unit casing is formed with an interference avoiding portion for avoiding interference with a steering member extending in a right-left direction of the vehicle, and the unit casing is divided into a front casing part and a rear casing part with the interference avoiding portion as a boundary.
The automotive air conditioner according to the invention is characterized in that the cooling heat exchanger is accommodated within the front casing part, and the heater is accommodated within the rear casing part, the interference avoiding portion forming a hole extending through the unit casing in the right-left direction of the vehicle, the interference avoiding portion being located in an air passage extending from the cooling heat exchanger to the heater at a substantially intermediate location with respect to a vertical direction of the vehicle.
The automotive air conditioner according to the invention is characterized in that an air-mixing door is arranged between the cooling heat exchanger and the heater, the air-mixing door being accommodated within the rear casing part, the front casing part and the rear casing part each permitting division into a right part and a left part with respect to the right-left direction of the vehicle, a pair of the parts forming the rear casing part being fixed in a vicinity of the interference avoiding means in the right-left direction of the vehicle by fixing means.